HUMANETICS, MSSM TO START ALZHEIMER'S DRUG TRIALS

Humanetics Corporation, headquartered in Texas, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) in New York will launch clinical trials of a new Alzheimer's disease compound, NIC5-15. The FDA recently approved the company's investigational new drug (IND) application for the drug. Phase I and Phase II studies will begin in a population of early-stage Alzheimer's disease at the MSSN and the Bronx VA Medical Center.

Giulio Maria Pasinetti, principal investigator in the trial and part of the MSSM's department of psychiatry, noted that "the studies will measure safety, dosing, efficacy and biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease."

In earlier preclinical studies of NIC5-15, the drug was found to be effective in preventing the formation or slowing the progression of beta amyloid plaques, which are believed to be a cause of Alzheimer's disease. In animal models, moderate doses of the compound improved cognitive function in mice with Alzheimer's type neuropathology and memory impairment.